brian.w

Hi there everyone i have been thinking for the past few months what i want to do after a holiday in australia, i want to live there.

i have applied for a working visa and plan to go there next year to check it out more and find out things.

I am 31 yrs of age and am worried i leave it to long, im sure i have the points,i am single and at this time dont have a great deal of money to waste so i am looking to not use an agent,is it easy to do this myself and where can i get help or can someone help me out there on this forum with questions that may arrise during the process.

I am a pipefitter and not sure what code my job title goes under but even before i go through the process of applying for visa i need my skills done first is this easy and can i do this myself,i have copies of my qualifacations from when i finished training so they are no problem.

i am also hoping when i do apply and am granted a visa to live there, i beleive i need to go over there to validate it well with me going over there next year on a working holiday visa for a year i hope it goes through when over there as i can leave australia for a few days and then go back and collect it,this will save me making another trip back to australia to do this, is this possible?

also when you have validated a visa in australia and return home how long do you get before you have to go back to australia to live as it might take some time to sell house and other stuff and get ready for the move etc

as i said above i would rather not use an agent and i beleive mine would be straight forward to do but need info and help from others where do i start and finish, my skills are the first i need to do this desides if i can go further

also one more thing just say i did apply and got visa when i went over there to live would i have to do the job i applied under or can i do any job i wanted or got


any help on the above would be great i just read on another form that someone paid approx £705 in total for skills,dimia visa,meds,xray,police checks etc but with an agent approx another £900+ on top of the above im sure mine would be very easy to do and think i would not need an agent,i have no kids and not wife etc just a single tradeperson guy

please give me some usefull info and help that would be great

brian.w

also i have a cousin over there and second cousin's who has stayed there for about 15 years or so and have a business does this help in my application for visa also i think i would be applying under skilled immagration also from being from uk and have been doing my job for 9+ years now would work in my favour for points and getting a visa

is 31 to old?

i have seen many on this forums a lot older getting there visa's i want to go while i still have some young years in me

i think i have asked everything

wongstonn

Hi Brian

Having got a skilled independent class migration visa there is no obligation to work in the trade that you applied under.

Having validated the visa at an Aussie, I believe that you can wait almost 5 years before taking up residency.

However, I think there may well Australian tax implications of waiting a while until selling the house in Blighty etc... I've seen various posts alluding to this. I believe Alan Collett provides some free fact sheets via his Collett & Co website.

beagle

Dear Brian

31 is not old in fact this gives you 25 points towards your skilled application.

I can understand that some agents fees are quite expensive. Maybe you need to look for an Australian Migration Agent in comparison to the pound the dollar you maybe surprised.

The application itself is not difficult, however ensuring that you have gathered all of the relevant evidence and submitted a very good application to the assessing authority is where many people fail.

Best Regards
Lesley Smith
Registered Migration Agent
Perth Western Australia

Stan J

You say you are a pipefitter ... is that a time served trade with paper qualifications ... City & Guilds or whatever? Does your trade allow you to nominate a trade or profession represented on this list http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1121i.pdf ? Those are the questions to ask yourself because the above list is the basis of getting your existing skills recognized.

As you say you need your skills assessed first before making the application (contact the relevent assessing body)

Currently you receive the same number of points (for age) if you are between 30-34 (http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/skill_points.htm)

Your strategy to visit australia on a WHV while your migration application is processed is interesting. Maybe the timing will work to your favour maybe not. Ask yourself if it is possible to gain 5 bonus points on migration application for 6 months legal work experience gained on your WHV. The possibilty and need for those extra points may play against a simultaneous working holiday and migration application?

This business of 'validating' is merely a strategy to ensure you arrive in australia WITHIN the migrant visa prescibed time period. If you are in a position to migrate properly then the visa is 'validated' on your arrival. The migrant visa then acts as a multiple re-entry visa for a number of years.

You are not bound to keep the same profession when in Oz. Though there may be a better chance of you fiinding employment in a field where you have experience and qualifications.

Alan Collett

Brian,

I hear what you say about not wanting to use an agent to help with your visa application. However, you have a number of important questions and so it seems to me that you would be making life a lot easier for yourself if you engaged a Registered Migration Agent to help with your skills assessment and your visa application.

Please feel able to email me if you want details of our fees and what we might do to help with your planned application.

In the meantime this webpage might help:
http://www.gomatilda.com/visas/faqs.cfm

Best regards.

brian.w

thanks alan for your reply to my post but you would say this anyway as you are looking for business and to make some money from me on it i am sure this would be cery easy to do myself i just looked at the form for indapendent skilled at it looks very straight forward to me as i am single,no kids and have all the info they ask for etc

as for the skills assessment im a bit puzzled on this one need to find my code for my trade once i have that i also beleive thats easy im a pipefitter i would love to use an agent but then the costs are double that of not using them

you can give costs if you want but i feel i would be wasting good money

mika24me

Hi Brian

my husband is a tradesman and most of his case was straightforward enough. However I hired a migration agent and found them to be well worth the fee (£900+vat for the main application, £300+vat for the skills assesment), even just for the peace of mind that I have done everything correctly.

Their fees are not so expensive compared when you think about the problems you will face if you have filled a form incorrectly and face a lengthly delay in your application.

Just my opinion, but if I were you I would at least speak to a migration agent to find out what they will cost and what they can offer you.

best of luck with your application

Mel

Alan Collett

That's fine Brian, it's your call. This Forum is great for answering many questions, but don't underestimate what is required at the skills assessment stage, the deeming date issue, and the implication of the deeming date on your eligibility for skilled migration - someone who knows how to present a skills assessment application to the TRA should be endeavouring to have the deeming date as early as possible.

Best regards.

brian.w

alan what do you mean buy this --

and the intricacies of your deeming date and the implication of this on your eligibility for skilled migration.

also alan is there such a service you do if i did then forms myself and got you to check them over is there a service you do for that but not pay full agent fees

what would i gain with using you when i feel my applications are straight forward the extra money your fees are would be more usefull for me right now

Alan Collett

Brian,

Re the deeming date question: have a look here:
http://www.gomatilda.com/visas/faqs.cfm#09

Happy to discuss the other issues outside the Forum if you want to email me directly: alan - at - gomatilda - dot - com

Best regards.

Rudy

Hi Brian,

There is far more to the visa application than just filling in the forms. If you are seriously looking to make a life changing move like emmigrating it makes sense to employ the services of an expert. If you have a failed migration attempt, where will that leave you? Appeals are not the way to go!

In my opinion, the migration agent gives you peace of mind and helps the visa processing along. If you were an officer in a visa processing centre, receiving hundreds of applications, which one would you rather pick up? One that was put together professionally with all requirements outlined and how you meet those requirements as an applicant, or one where a person has filled in a form, never done anything like it before and you have to wade through reams of paper to find the proof of every requirement being met. I know which one I would rather deal with.

It is up to you, but I personally would not have taken the risk of going it alone, our future depends on a successful outcome.

Best of luck, whatever you decide
Hazel.

mika24me

Let's hear it for the migration agents

Hip Hip Hooray!

bored_bean

Well I can't say that mine is an angel, but I believe he used to be 'on the other side' and consequently knows how to best answer those ambiguous questions. It certainly brings peace of mind knowing that all of your forms have what's needed on them and that you're not going to have an unpleasant surprise due to a mistake on the form. How much is your visa worth to you?